MiG-21 fighter jets

About MiG-21 fighter jets

• It was the first supersonic fighter in service of the IAF and was inducted in 1963.
• It was designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau (OKB) of the erstwhile Soviet Union.
• More than 800 variants of the supersonic fighter have been inducted into service.
• The IAF now has two MiG-21 squadrons in service comprising the upgraded Bison variants, the No. 3 squadron ‘Cobras’ at Bikaner and No. 23 squadron ‘Panthers’ at Suratgarh, which will be phased out by 2025.

What is MiG-21 Bison?

• The MiG-21 Bison is an upgraded version of the MiG-21bis which had been first inducted into service in 1976.
• The MiG-21 FL, which was an older version of the aircraft and which joined service in 1963, had been phased out of IAF in 2013.
• The IAF received the first upgraded MiG-21 Bison in 2001 and the last of these upgraded fighters was received in 2008.

Q1) What is a supersonic fighter?

A supersonic fighter is a high-speed military aircraft designed for combat and capable of flying at speeds greater than the speed of sound, often referred to as Mach 1 or faster. These aircraft are designed for air superiority, interception, ground attack, and other combat roles.

Source: How are the MiG-21 fighter jets being phased out? | Explained